


Across The Street

by phoebebridgers



Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Best Friends, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Jock! Toni, Martha Blackburn - Freeform, Popular Girl! Shelby, Secret Relationship, Shelby Goodkind - Freeform, Shelby x Toni, Shoni - Freeform, Smut, The Wilds, Toni Shalifoe - Freeform, dot campbell - Freeform, fatin jadmani - Freeform, leah rilke - Freeform, nora reid - Freeform, rachel reid - Freeform, shoni au, the wilds au, toni x shelby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:08:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29258727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoebebridgers/pseuds/phoebebridgers
Summary: Toni has no choice but to move back into her childhood home with her mom, across the street from Shelby. Toni and Shelby used to be best friends, but now... it’s complicated.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Comments: 6
Kudos: 116





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> TW/ mention of drug use and rehab ?? idk. also I made up a name for Toni’s mom.

In the passenger seat of her mother’s car, Toni gazes at her new home, tears stinging her eyes. She hates that she always cries when she’s mad. She hasn’t spoken a word to her mother all day. Toni sighs and takes her seatbelt off, slamming it a little too hard against the window. 

“Lose the attitude, Toni. This is going to be good for us. You won’t even need to switch schools, we’re still within your district, remember? I’m just trying to give you a good life.” Her mother, Dakota, reaches for her hand. 

“Are you fucking kidding me? I had a life. You chose not to be a part of it. You decided that drugs were more important than your own kid.” Toni yells, now full blown crying. 

“Toni, I’m clean now. And I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I thought you’d be happy to be out of the system-”

“The system that you abandoned me with?” She puts her face in her hands, laughing at her mothers audacity. “You’ve really got some fucking nerve, you know?” 

“ENOUGH!” Dakota yells. “I am YOUR MOTHER and you will not speak to me like this. Get your stuff, and come inside. Now.” Dakota stepped out of the car and slammed the door, marching towards their new home. 

Toni sits in the car, clutching her basketball to her chest and sobbing. Toni had no idea that her mother was picking her up today, let alone that she would have to move back in with her. Her mother had been in and out of rehab for the last few years, and they barely have a relationship anymore. Toni didn’t love the foster system, but it was better than being around her mother. 

Toni collected herself and stepped out of the car. She started unloading the very few boxes of her belongings, accidentally dropping her basketball. It swiftly rolled across the street. “Shit,’ She mumbled. 

“No worries, I got it!” Yelled a voice from the other side of the street. The sound of her voice stopped Toni in her tracks. She recognized it. That accent, the softness, the kindness. Without a doubt, it was-

“Shelby.” Toni sighed, “You still live here?”

“Heck yeah, I do! 16 years and counting.” Shelby Goodkind grinned, tossing the ball back to Toni. She nodded in the direction of Toni’s house “And I’m guessing you do now, too?” 

“Just when I thought this day couldn’t get any fucking worse.” Toni turned around, and stomped back over to her side of the street, picking up her boxes. 

“Need any help?” Shelby yelled from the other side.

Toni smiled at Shelby, throwing her middle finger high in the air. 

“Hey! So much for Lovin Thy Neighbor!” Shelby yelled, hands on her hips. “That frickin’ girl.” She mumbled under her breath. “Oh well.” 

“Who you talkin’ to, sweetie?” Shelby’s father, Dave Goodkind, yelled from the porch. 

“New neighbor alert. Well, same neighbor, but Toni’s back. Must be movin’ back in with her Mama.” Shelby shrugged and sat next to her father on the porch swing. This was kind of like their special spot, they always had the best conversations here. 

“Her Mama? You’re tellin’ me she’s back out of… well…” 

“Rehab, daddy. You can say it. And it appears so. We should bring them a house warming gift, don’t you think? Or I could make some cookies. I just think-” 

“Sweetie, I don’t know if I want you hangin’ around there at all. Even for a moment.” Dave sighed. 

“What is going on today?! What happened to Love Thy Neighbor?!” Shelby teased, determined to find a reason to see Toni again. She didn’t know why, but she was almost excited that Toni was back. They hadn’t really spoken in years. 

Her father smiled and softened up a bit. “You have a beautiful heart, kid. You’re right. There’s nothin’ wrong with spreadin’ a little love.” 

“So… cookies?” Shelby grinned and hopped to her feet, holding her hand out to her father. 

“Deal. But only if I get to have some!”


	2. 2

Laying on her bed, Toni shuffles through the playlist that Regan made for her. It’s been 6 months now since they’ve broken up, but Toni still does this everyday, grateful that they at least stayed friends after everything that happened. For a second, she feels safe inside of the music, like nothing had changed. The song ended, and she’s brought back to her reality. Overwhelmed with everything going on, she starts to cry, until she hears a knock on her front door. She sprung to her feet, wiping the tears out of her eyes. “I’ll get it!” She screamed, but only because she just wanted an excuse to yell.

Toni opens the door, immediately greeted by Shelby wearing a backpack. “Hi! I know you flipped me the bird earlier and all, but, oh my goodness are you-” 

Toni grabbed Shelby’s arm as she stepped outside and closed the door. “Be quiet, shit.” Toni snapped, a tear sliding down her cheek. 

“Sorry. Are you okay?” Shelby asked, genuinely concerned. She took her backpack off and sat it on the floor next to her. 

“I’m fine.” Toni said, still holding on to Shelby’s arm. Their faces are inches apart. 

“You’re crying, Toni.” Shelby whispered. She was hyper-aware of the fact that Toni was touching her, and for some reason, she didn’t want it to stop. She pulled Toni into her arms, hugging her tightly. “What’s wrong?” 

Toni didn’t expect it, but she melted into Shelby’s arms, the world around them slipping away for just a moment. She really needed a hug. Almost 5 entire minutes passed before Toni pulled away, she started to feel embarrassed. “What are you doing here?” Toni cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her eyes. 

“I just came here to bring you these, and say welcome back.” Shelby reached into her backpack, pulling out a tupperware container full of chocolate chip cookies. “And, I remembered the orange ones were your favorite when we were kids, so…” She pulled an orange gatorade out of her bag. “Just thought you could use some kindness.” 

“I don’t need your pity gifts, Shelby.” Toni barked. “You don’t have to pretend to be all neighborly.” 

Shelby sighed. “Fine. Whatever. I just thought-” 

“I don’t need you to think of me, Shelby.” Toni’s words stung harder than Shelby expected, especially considering the fact that Shelby couldn’t stop thinking about Toni all day long. She thought about her a lot in general, actually. Without saying a word, Shelby sat the snacks down on Toni’s porch step, and jogged across the street, home.

Toni immediately regretted her actions. She doesn’t mean to blow up on people like this, she just gets caught up in her emotions. Sometimes, in the moment, it’s hard for her to think clearly. Shelby was just trying to be nice, why couldn’t Toni have just let her? Probably because she doesn’t think she deserves nice things. But she was hungry, so she picked up the gatorade and cookies and brought them inside. 

“Was that Shelby Goodkind?” Dakota asked, excitement ringing in her voice. 

“Yeah, She made us cookies.” Toni sat the tupperware down on the table. “And I may have just been a total jerk to her. Which isn’t surprising, because I’m always such an asshole.”

“You’re not an asshole, Toni. You’ve been through… a lot. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Her mother reassured.

Toni sat at the kitchen table, she opened the tupperware and shoved a cookie in her mouth. “They’re good.” She pushed the container over to her mom. Her mom sat down next to Toni, trying a cookie. 

“They are.” Dakota smiled and looked at her daughter. “And from what I remember about Shelby Goodkind, she doesn’t seem like a bad friend to have.” 

Toni gulped. “She’s not the worst.” She devoured another cookie. “She just always puts on this little act, but I see her, you know?” 

“Maybe you should apologize, or at least thank her for the cookies.” Her mom replied. 

“What, right now?!” Toni rebuked.

“Whenever you’re ready.” Dakota took another cookie and walked out of the room.


	3. 3

It was almost 1 AM and Shelby was still up trying to do homework, but she couldn’t focus. She still couldn’t stop thinking about Toni. She decided to write her feelings down in her journal, hoping it would make her feel better. Why does Toni hate her so much? They used to be best friends, and then suddenly they just weren’t. They didn’t really get into any fights, they just fell off. Shelby felt something for Toni, something deep that she didn’t want to feel. She was always taught that it was wrong to feel this way. So instead, Shelby slowly pushed her away. She admired her from afar over the years. So why is Toni being so mean to her? Shelby had been missing her a lot recently, to be honest. Shelby decided that Toni must just be going through a lot right now, but she couldn’t help feeling like she did something wrong. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something hitting her window.

Confused, Shelby jumped up and looked outside. It was Toni, throwing rocks at Shelby’s bedroom window. Shelby opened her window. “Are you crazy?!” She half yelled, half whispered. “It’s the middle of the night!” 

“Your light was on, so I figured… Look, can you just come out?” Toni stammered. “Please.” 

Shelby sighed, but threw on her robe and slippers, and quietly tiptoed outside. She pulled Toni to the side of the house, just in case her parents woke up.

“What do you want? And be quiet, I’ll get into so much trouble if my parents hear us.” Shelby scolded, hiding her excitement. “Why are you here?” 

“I just… I wanted to apologize.” Toni whispered. 

“For what?” Shelby replied gleefully. 

“You know, for being such an asshole earlier… It’s kind of my trademark.” 

“Okay. So do it.” Shelby declared. 

“...What?” Toni questioned. 

“Apologize. Unless that was supposed to count.” Shelby chuckled. 

“You know what,” Toni rolled her eyes and started to walk away, but she stopped herself. She walked back up to Shelby and looked her in the eye. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I was an asshole. Thank you for the cookies, and the orange gatorade.” 

Shelby felt her stomach roar to life with butterflies as she got lost in Toni’s eyes. She only broke eye contact to sneak a glance at Toni’s lips. “Thank you for your apology. It’s no big deal.” 

“Yes, it is. You were just trying to be nice. I’m just… really stressed out, to say the least.” Toni whispered. “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.” They were still staring into each other's eyes, subconsciously moving ever so closer to each other. 

“Can I just ask you a question?” Shelby whispered back. Toni nodded. “We used to be best friends. Why do you hate me so much?” She asked. 

“What? I don’t hate you, Shelby. If anything, you hate me. We just grew up, and you got cool, and made new friends, and you forgot about me. You moved on.” Toni glowered. “Or did you forget?”

“Is that really how you remember things?” Shelby asked, hurt. “I never moved on, Toni. I think about you all the time. I always missed you.” 

“Then why did you stop hanging out with me? You made it seem like you didn’t want me around, so I left you alone.” Toni hissed. “I thought you wanted this.” 

“Oh, Toni. That’s not true, it wasn’t like that. I always-”

“She didn’t want me,” Toni motioned towards her own house, “and you didn’t want me either, nobody ever wants me. I’m used to it, Shelby. It is what it is.” 

“Toni, I want you. I always have.” Shelby moved closer to Toni, so close that she could feel her breath. “That’s the problem. I want you too much.” Shelby softly pressed her lips onto Toni’s. Toni stepped back. “Shelby…” She stared into Shelby’s eyes, and felt her body ignite. Suddenly, there were flames flowing through her veins, fireworks exploding in her stomach. And before she could think twice about it, she was pushing Shelby against the wall, her lips were back on Shelby’s, kissing her deeply, almost desperately, like she had been wanting to for her entire life.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a childhood memory shared between shelby and toni!

There had been so many moments where Shelby wanted to kiss Toni, but they were 12 when she first realized it. It was a humid summer night, and they wanted to get one last adventure in before they started middle school. So, they hopped on their bikes and took off, because there was no place they’d rather be other than with each other, free. 

“Look, Toni! Lightning bugs!” Shelby yelled over her shoulder, pedaling faster.

“They’re called fireflies, loser!” Toni teased, “Slow down!” 

“I don’t care what they’re called, aren’t they beautiful?” Shelby gushed, “They almost look like twinkling stars!” She pedaled even faster. 

“You’re going too fast!” Toni screamed, but it was too late. Shelby had flown off of her bike onto the pavement. “SHELBY!” Toni sped to Shelby as fast as she could, fumbling over her bike to get to her best friend. “Are you okay?!” 

Shelby had a scraped elbow and a few bruises, but it wasn’t too bad. Instead of noticing her injuries, Shelby just looked around at the fireflies surrounding them. “Wow, look at that.” Shelby sighed and looked Toni in the eye, “God does not do ugly.” 

Toni laughed. “You scared me. You’re bleeding!” Toni pulled a bandaid out of her pocket, she always carried one with her. Not because she was particularly clumsy, but because her best friend was, so she always came prepared to bandage her. “Here.” Toni opened the bandaid and put it on Shelby’s scrape, giving it a quick kiss afterwards. “Good as new.” 

This simple act ignited a fire in Shelby that she was never able to extinguish. She felt butterflies fluttering up her heart and taking over her body, making her legs feel weak. She looked at her arm where Toni’s lips had just touched, and then she looked up into Toni’s eyes. This was the moment that Shelby realized that she might be in love with her best friend. A girl, the opposite of what was expected from her. But, what she also realized in this moment, was that there was no stopping it. This feeling would only grow stronger. Sitting next to each other on the sidewalk, the only light they had was the stars, the moon, and the warm flickering glow of the fireflies. Shelby let the moment take over her body and guide her, so she slowly leaned into Toni’s face, staring at her lips.

What Shelby didn’t know, and still doesn’t, is that Toni already had feelings for her. She always did. But of course, Right when their lips were about to touch, a car came speeding past them, almost hitting Shelby’s bike in the street. Reality crashing down on them, they quickly jumped to their feet and hopped back on their bikes. The fireflies flickering glow synchronized with their heart beats as they thought about how just for a moment, they were the only two people on earth. Surrounded by the enchanted, magical glow of a fleeting summer, their love grew stronger.


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, back to the main story now!

It was only right that their first kiss took place on a humid summer night, and again the fireflies lit up like stars, just for them. In that moment, it felt like time stopped, like nothing else existed, nothing else was real but the two of them. Reality slipped away, or maybe they were just forming a new one.

“Toni,” Shelby giggled in between kisses, “What time is it?” She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Almost 4 in the morning?! The sun will literally be up soon, maybe we should-” Before she could finish her sentence, Toni was grabbing her waist and pulling her in for another kiss. 

“But this is so nice,” Toni whispered “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

“You have?” Shelby smiled, “Really? I mean, don’t get me wrong, me too, but you really-”

“Shelby, of course I have. Look, I know I’m not the best at emotions, and I never really have the right words to say, but this… I’ve always been sure of this.” Toni blushed. 

“Man, what are we gonna do?” Shelby took a step back, finally absorbing the gravity of the situation. 

“What do you mean?” Toni grabbed her hand, “We could do some more of..” She pulled her in for another kiss.

“Toni, we should talk about this. It’s kind of a big deal.” Shelby replied.

“Look, it’s late. We can talk about this later, after we’ve gotten a little bit of sleep. Good?” Toni asked. 

“Yeah, sounds good.” Shelby paused for a moment, and then pulled Toni into her arms. “It’s nice to have you back.” 

Toni melted into her arms. She wished she could say it was nice to be back, but Shelby was the only good thing about her life right now. Shelby had always been a light in Toni’s life, like a beautiful rainbow after a dark storm, like the first warm day after a long winter, like she was drowning and Shelby was a breath of fresh air. To tell you the truth, Shelby felt more like home to her than that house ever did, so for just this moment, Toni was happy and at peace.


	6. 6

Shelby stood on her porch watching Toni jog across the street. Even though it was just across the road, she wanted to make sure that Toni got home safely. Toni got to her front door and turned around, gazing at Shelby. Shelby blew Toni a kiss, and Toni felt warm all over again. She pretended to catch the kiss, and then walked into her house. She closed the door and sunk to the floor, full of butterflies. Maybe moving back here wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all. 

They both only got about two hours of sleep before they had to wake up for school, it was the last week before summer break. Shelby was always an incredible student, but she spent the day daydreaming about spending this summer with Toni. There was so much they needed to talk about, but Shelby couldn’t stop thinking about Toni’s lips, and she was hoping there would be a lot more nights like that. Even now, she still wondered if Toni felt the same way, because it all seemed too good to be true to Shelby. 

Little did she know, Toni spent the entire day thinking about her as well, replaying the memories from the previous night. She couldn’t stop thinking about Shelby kissing her first, she never expected Shelby to be interested in a girl, let alone Toni. It felt too good to be true to Toni, too. Toni had been out of the closet for a long time, and she never really needed to be in the closet because her best friend Martha always knew without Toni having to tell her. Toni always felt accepted, because Toni got to choose her family instead of being born into one. That’s what she always told herself. 

Toni’s train of thought was interrupted by her phone buzzing. She pulled it out of her pocket, hiding it under her desk so the teacher wouldn’t see. It was a text from Shelby. 

“Can’t stop thinking about you, honestly. Can we hang out after school? I’d love to see you.” Shelby texted.

“Same here. Yes, can’t wait.” Toni texted back. She smiled and slipped her phone back into her pocket, fantasizing about what is going to happen next.


End file.
